AMA Supports Response to Indigenous Child Abuse

PETER BEAUMONT: Annie, look, while I share some of Jon Altman's reservations, overall I'm delighted that people are taking this matter seriously. I know there are a lot of underlying things that need attention but people have not been able to attend to these and there is clearly identified a lot of children that are at risk in the Territory. And I think that it may be a knee jerk reaction but I think that it demonstrates to the community that at last someone's really serious about saving these children.

ANNIE GASTIN: Okay, with regard to the AMA then, how do you feel about, firstly I suppose, the notion of compulsory examination?

PETER BEAUMONT: Look, I think that's a very difficult matter that needs to be discussed. The whole way this is going to be done will need to be discussed with Aboriginal elders, the protocols worked out so that whatever is done is in a culturally sensitive way.

You may well find that we do need to modify slightly the initial reaction but I have no doubt that we need to attend to this issue swiftly.

It's going to take months and months and months to do it and it will take years to amend the underlying problems and invest the amount of money that's required to help correct the situation in Aboriginal communities. But with this matter, I'm pleased that someone's getting onto it.

ANNIE GASTIN: Well, now, whose responsibility is Health - Federal or Territory?

PETER BEAUMONT: The Federal Government funds health throughout Australia, through grants to the States and Territories and, until now, they have not been involved other than in a very few narrow areas in the delivery of health care and this is a huge change.

ANNIE GASTIN: It is a huge change. I mean, I presume that they've been asked to dig a bit deeper in the past. I wonder why now, and especially with this added cost of having every child under 16, every indigenous child under 16 as they propose, examined by doctors?

PETER BEAUMONT: Look Annie, the Federal AMA a few months ago passed a vote of no confidence in the Territory Government in its handling of Indigenous health and perhaps the Federal Government has taken note of that vote of no confidence and decided they had better take some action.

ANNIE GASTIN: Can you explain though, why the Federal Government, there hasn't been a vote of no confidence in the Federal Government if they are the ones who fund health?

PETER BEAUMONT: They fund the health, but it's how the money's used that it's important Annie and they - I think everybody's responsible from the funder down but it's very difficult to control how the money's used.

ANNIE GASTIN: So you would suggest that perhaps it all hasn't been getting where it should?

PETER BEAUMONT: Look, I have no evidence of that. Others have made those assertions but others that seem to know have made those assertions but I don't have any evidence myself.

ANNIE GASTIN: Peter, what about the practicalities of getting out there and examining all those indigenous children under 16? You've looked at the sort of cultural issues, you've suggested that it may have to be modified. There may be some people who don't want to be examined, for example. What about, you know, having enough doctors to do it?

PETER BEAUMONT: That's an absolutely mammoth task. The most important thing, first of all, is to determine how it's going to be tackled with the aid of Aboriginal elders that can help us develop protocols that are appropriate.

But before we even start we have to ensure that we have an appropriate mechanism to manage children that have been identified as being at risk once the process is finished. There's no point in going through and identifying risks and not knowing how we're going to handle them.

Not only will we need more doctors but we will need more people involved in the other end of it, in helping families and communities cope with the delivery of at risk children.

ANNIE GASTIN: I presume that most children in communities, given that there are health centres and things there, have already been examined by medical staff. Do you think that this examination suggests that they should be looked at for sexually transmitted diseases?

PETER BEAUMONT: Annie, this is why I say there may need to be a modification of whatever process occurs, from the initial response, because there may well have already been health centres that have examined children in relation to this and initiated things. And I know that we need to find out exactly what's happened and we do need to understand the immense cultural issues in even contemplating starting a thing like this.

ANNIE GASTIN: Thank you, Dr Peter Beaumont.

PETER BEAUMONT: Thank you very much, Annie.

Ends